However, the grid has been around for far longer than the British Empire. The grid pattern chosen was widely copied in the colonies of British North America.
The central diamond within a walled city with four gates was thought to be a good design for defence. Derry was the first ever planned city in Ireland, begun in 1613, with the walls being completed 5 years later in 1618. The most commonly seen pattern is the grid, favoured by the Romans, almost a rule in parts of the New World, and used for thousands of years in China.
Modern city planning has seen many different schemes for how a city should look. In contrast, planned cities founded after the advent of the automobile tend to have expansive boulevards impractical to navigate on foot. This quality is a legacy of earlier unplanned or organic development, and is often perceived by today's tourists to be picturesque. Older European cities often have historically intact central areas where the streets are jumbled together, seemingly without a structural plan. Water transport on rivers and oceans was (and in most cases remains) cheaper and more efficient than road transport over long distances. Cities are often coastal, with harbours for shipping, or situated near rivers to give an economic advantage. The geographies of cities, both physical and human, are diverse. The square shape is inspired by Jerusalem The city is completely surrounded by a city wall and defensive canal.
Map of Haarlem, the Netherlands, of around 1550.
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